1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a housing coupling structure for a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, with the development of the electronic communication industry, there are rapid changes in the development of portable terminals, such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant, and a digital TV. These devices have become necessary articles of modern life which are an important means for transmitting information.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a conventional portable terminal.
Referring to FIG. 1, the portable terminal includes a front housing 110, a rear housing 120, and a rear cover 130.
The front housing 110 and the rear housing 120 are coupled to form a space accommodating the internal components of the portable terminal 100. The rear cover 130 covers the rear housing 120. The front housing 110 is disposed in a front side of the portable terminal 100, and the rear cover 130 is disposed in a rear side of the portable terminal 100.
The front housing 110 and the rear housing 120 are coupled to form a container opened toward the front of the portable terminal 100. A window 140, a display 150, a main board 160 and a shield can 170 are sequentially mounted in the space formed by the coupling between the front housing 110 and the rear housing 120. A battery 180 is accommodated in the space formed by the coupling between the front housing 110 and the rear housing 120.
The window 140 is transparent and is exposed toward the front side of the portable terminal 100. The images of the display 150 are displayed through the window 140. The main board 160 is a substrate, in which basic circuits and a plurality of electronic components are mounted. The main board 160 sets an execution environment of the mobile terminal, maintains information thereof, allows the mobile terminal to be stably driven, and allows all units of the mobile terminal to swiftly perform data input/output exchange between the components of the mobile terminal and with other devices. The shield can 170 is mounted on the main board 160 so as to cover the circuits and electronic components of the main board 160 and provide an electromagnetic shield for the electronic components.
The front housing 110 has a boss 111 for screw-coupling with the rear housing 120. The boss 111 has a flanged screw coupling portion 1111 through which a screw hole to be coupled with a screw 190 is formed. The flanged screw coupling portion 1111 is formed of metal and is formed at the front boss 111 typically by use of insert injection molding. The rear housing 120 has a boss coupling hole 121 that is screw-coupled with the boss 111 of the front housing 110. The screw 190 passes through the boss coupling hole 121 of the rear housing 120 and is coupled with the boss 111 of the front housing 110 such that the front housing 110 and the rear housing 120 are coupled together.
The boss coupling hole 121 of the rear housing 120 must have a predetermined width (W) and a predetermined thickness (T), in order to prevent the boss coupling hole 121 from being broken during coupling by the screw 190.
The boss 111 of the front hosing 110 and the boss coupling hole 121 of the rear housing 120 are disposed in the side of the portable terminal, and it is becoming more difficult to maintain the width and thickness of the boss coupling hole 121. The reason for this is that the thicknesses and widths of the front housing 110 and rear housing 120 have been reduced in order to reduce the thickness and width of the portable terminal. Recently, with the increasing use of a potable terminal having a touchscreen, users tend to prefer a larger touchscreen. Therefore, in order to increase the area of the touchscreen while downsizing the portable terminal, there is provided a method of reducing the thickness and width of the front housing 110 and the rear housing 120. Also, for beauty of design, a curvature at the sides of the portable terminals is emerging as an important design factor.
Accordingly, there is a need for a housing coupling structure for a portable terminal, which reduces the thickness or width of the portable terminal, increases design freedom, and provides secure rigidity.